Jamie Foster has vowed to come back stronger from his cruel injury setback and revealed how Bulls coach Francis Cummins has already given him reassurances about his future at the club.

Foster is facing up to the grim prospect of spending at least three months on the sidelines after rupturing a pectoral muscle during last weekend’s Tetley’s Challenge Cup tie at Rochdale.

He was set to see a specialist in Manchester last night and will undergo surgery either before the end of the week or early next week.

Foster, a positive person by nature, is prepared for a lengthy period of rehab after his operation but is targeting a return to action in August.

His injury, which happened when his left arm became twisted as he was tackled, is a major blow to a player who has enjoyed a fine season so far and become popular with team-mates and supporters alike.

Cummins spoke to Foster soon after the seriousness of his injury became apparent and told him it would not affect his hopes of being awarded a new contract, with his current one-year deal due to expire at the end of the season.

The 22-year-old, who joined the Bulls from St Helens during the winter, said: “Franny rang me to say that being out injured for so long wouldn’t affect anything in terms of contract negotiations for next year.

“There have been some preliminary discussions and I’d like to stay at Bradford because I’ve loved it here.

“There are a lot of honest people at the club and I’ve been very well looked after by people who want the best for me. Bradford are backing me all the way and I really appreciate that. It’s a great feeling to be wanted.”

Foster said his relationship with Cummins was one of the main reasons he wanted to extend his stay with the club.

“I remember meeting Franny in Leeds when I first began talking to Bradford last year,” he explained.

“I understand everything he’s wanted from me and since I’ve been there we’ve got on very, very well.

“Every time I pull on the shirt I give 110 per cent and that’s all Franny asks.

“At Bradford we are all about investing in our careers.

“We speak about that a lot and I really understand where Franny is coming from, especially with what has happened with me over the last 12 to 18 months.”

Reflecting on how he sustained the injury at Spotland, Foster said: “I was just carrying the ball and had a Rochdale player around my legs and two on my upper body.

“I was trying to shake them off and was carrying the ball with my right arm and one of the Rochdale players got underneath my left shoulder.

“My arm obviously didn’t want to go backwards and he has pushed it back in a really awkward position. I heard a bit of a crunch sound and I knew straight away that something was wrong.

“Speaking to people in the know about this kind of injury, it’s going to be a repair of the shoulder really.

“The tendon has come away from the bone and it’s a matter of healing them back together.

“I’ll have surgery and it’s looking like the three-month mark for my time on the sidelines but if you look after your injuries you can shave weeks off that.

“I want to keep myself as involved as I can. It’s not a case of ‘Oh, I’m injured, I’ll see you in three months.’ I’m going to be doing everything I can in training – the first in and the last to leave.”

The Bulls have begun talks with a number of players out of contract at the end of the year with the club’s Super League licence for 2014 due to be rubber-stamped imminently.

On-loan Warrington centre Matty Blythe has a chance of shaking off a niggling back problem to face his parent club on Sunday but Jamie Langley (hamstring) is likely to miss out.

The Bulls’ Challenge Cup fifth-round tie at London Broncos seems certain to be played at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday, May 10 but has yet to be confirmed.